By Sasha Gonzales [email protected]
A Bronx man was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison for fatally stabbing his friend after they got into a fight over littering.
Bronx Supreme Court Justice Barry Warhit sentenced Brandon Garcia, 24, of Barker Avenue to 14 years in prison and five years post-release supervision after Garcia pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
The defendant’s brother, Gary Garcia, 20, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault on January 9, 2019 for his involvement in the fight and was granted youthful offender status, earning him the more lenient sentence of 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.
“Yet again, the Bronx sees a senseless violent act stemming from a petty argument,” said Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. “The victim was killed at a young age, and the defendants, who are also young men, must now face the consequences and go to prison.”
According to prosecutors, Brandon Garcia fatally stabbed Daniel Pena, 23, on May 11, 2016 in front of 2953 Decatur Avenue. Pena and Garcia, who were friends, had gotten into an argument a few days earlier over littering in front of Pena’s grandmother’s apartment. The argument continued on the day of the incident when the defendant and his little brother saw the victim on a street corner.
When the younger brother got into a fistfight with Pena, Brandon Garcia stabbed Pena three times in the torso, the force of the stabbing causing the knife handle to break off from the blade and become stuck in Pena’s body, prosecutors said.
Pena died a short time later at the hospital. The brothers fled to Puerto Rico where they were arrested on May 26, 2016, prosecutors said.